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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-11-20 School Committee Minutes381 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVZ14BER 20,'1984 Call to Order Chairman Allen called a regular meeting of the Reading School Committee to order at 7:33 p.m., on November 20, 1984, in the Central Office Conference Room, All members were present, as were Superintendent Wells and Assistant Superintendents Munnelly and Winslow. There were seven visitors, including Mr, Robert Lyons, Executive Director of the SEEM Collaborative, Dr, Alexander Alexanian, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, Special Education teachers Mrs, Sue Robison and Ms. Veronica Kenney, and represen- tatives of the Finance Committee and Daily Chronicle, Approval of Minutes of October 29, 1984 On a motion by Mr. MacDonald, seconded by Mr. Nigro, the minutes of the meeting of October 29, 1984 were unanimously approved. Bills and Payrolls Warrants for bills and payrolls were approved as follows: Bills November 2, 1984 - General Expense - $29,711.87 November 9, 1984 - General Expense - $63,039.63 November 16, 1984 - General Expense - $41,234.27 November 23, 1984 - General Expense - $66,526.80 Payrolls November 1, 1982 November 2, 1984 November 9, 1984 November 15, 1984 November 16, 1984 November 21, 1984 Teachers Weekly - Weekly - Teacher Weekly Weekly $320,868.57 $34,553.83 $27,054.91 s - $328,941.14 - $27,198.67 - $28,218.49 Meeting Postponement - School Highlights Chairman Allen noted that the meeting had been postponed from Monday to Tuesday evening because the Chairman and Superintendent had been requested to meet with the Board of Selectmen and later it became apparent that the Fall Town Meeting would still be in session Monday. He said he hoped it had not caused any inconvenience to anyone. He added thet because of the change in meeting night the "School Highlights" portion of the meeting was postponed due to the fact that some of the participants were unable to be present on Tuesday, Citizens' Input There was no citizens' input. Graduation Requirements Policy - Second Vote Dr. Wells said the Administration had attempted to incorporate into the Policy for Graduation Requirements the suggestions made by the School Committee at the last READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 20, 1984 meeting. He added that if after four years it proves satisfactory the date in the policy can be removed. After a brief discussion, Mr, Coco moved, seconded by Mrs, Philbrick, and it was voted unanimously to approve for second and final vote Policy IKF Graduation Requirements - Reading Memorial High School, as revised. User Fees Chairman Allen said that after a discussion with Mr. Coco it was decided that the Committee should discuss user fees before budget deliberations started. Mr. Coco added that he suggested user fees be on the agenda in an effort to antic- ipate this possibility before budget discussions began, but that it could be dis- cussed at the next meeting in more depth. Mr. Coco said he would like a recom- mendation from the Administration, and also to hear about other systems which have been successful with the use of such fees. He noted that since the Town voted against relaxation of Proposition 2 1/2 the School Committee will be facing a situation where it will have to find money in the budget and perhaps user fees will be an answer, The Chairman said he had talked to officials of the Town of Andover, which has had user fees in effect for athletics for three years. He added that even if more than one child or sport is involved no family pays over $50. He said he believed this arrangement includes band, cheerleaders, etc. Dr. Wells said be called the Superintendent of Schools in Andover and found that they have the same arrangement for music and color guard - $35 for one student, with a $50 maximum. He added that they collected $15,000 for athletics but the Administration in Andover regards it as a nuisance tax because of the time and money spent to collect it. He went on to say that it is not the type of thing coaches and directors like and that it results in pressure on the parents. Dr. Wells said he can find out how much is collected for band participation and what fee is charged for music lessons. Chairman Allen noted that Andover bonded a number of items, such as computers. Mrs. Philbrick said she would like a clearer understanding of what legally can be charged for and how much can be realized. She added that if user fees could bring in $300,000 it would be worthwhile, but if only $15,000 could be realized it would not. Dr. [,Wells said that he guessed that at most $20- 25,000 could be realized from user fees. He said another area the Committee could think about is taking away services the System is not required to offer. Mr. MacDonald was of the opinion that the Committee has all the information necessary, but that the amount of money from user fees would be very limited and would not solve any budgetary problems. The Chairman said he felt the Committee should look at areas of the budget which could be cut, e.g,, bussing, The discussion concluded without a consensus, �8 S READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NQ'VET-BEPZ, 20, 1984 Special Education Report Dr. Alexander Alexanian, Director of Pupil Personnel Services, introduced Mr. Robert Lyons, Executive Director of the SEEM Collaborative, and Special Education teachers Ms. Veronica Kenney and Ms. Susan Robison, who would assist him in reporting on Reading's special education programs. He noted that the report mailed to the Com- mittee prior to the meeting reflected a lot of work by a lot of people from the School System. He added that they would report on three different themes at this time. Mrs. Robison, who teaches at the High School, spoke about the flexibility of the secondary program. She said that at that level they were able to write many indi- vidualized programs and offer broarder services. She also spoke about helping the students returning from private special education schools to cope with adjusting to public school. She said that at the High School they are able to offer many services private schools do, especially for learning disabled students. She briefly described the resource room, called the "Diagnostic Learning Center," and the coop- eration between its staff and the regular classroom teachers. She also talked about the 502.3 Program - small classes and intensive instruction, the FOCUS Pro- gram - which helps with motivational problems, and a combination of various pro- grams with mainstreaming. Mrs. Robison said there is a lot of coordination with outside agencies, as High School students sometimes have need of services beyond the scope of the school. Ms. Kenney spoke first about the role of the Resource Room teachers at the elemen- tary level, the evaluation process, and individual programs and learning styles of students. She then went into the changes which take place at the Middle School level where the Resource Room teacher becomes a communication source, helps stu- dent cope with the changes, attempts to mainstream students as much as possible, and assists students in preparing for the transition to High School. Mr, Lyons talked about the shifting trends of the seven -town SEEM Collaborative, noting that while the total number of students is down over the last six years, and the developmentally disabled population continues to decrease, preschool pop- ulation is increasing. He added that there has been a small decrease in the amount of learning disabled children. He noted that the FOCUS Program is an excellent model for avoiding more restrictive programs. Regarding high school students, he said that they are apt to be a combination of learning disabled and learning and behavioral and the usual forms of behavior modification don't seem to be working. He spoke of "attention deficit" and the difficulty in finding solutions to deal with it, especially at the middle and high school levels. Dr. Alexanian added that a great deal of time is spent in trying to sort out relationships between school, parents and students. Mr. Coco said he would like to see figures on the number of pupils in outside institutions and the actual enrollment in special education. Dr. Alexanian said he will make those figures available. Following questions by the School Committee, Chairman Allen extended the thanks of the Committee to those who participated in the presentation. 394 READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES Financial Statements NOVEMBER 20, 1984 Noted for the record were the following financial statements: Salary and Expense Accounts as of October 26, 1984; Account Balances as of October 31, 1984. School Committee Mini Grant Dr. Wells said the "go ahead" has been received for the School Committee Mini Grant Project, "Improving Communication, Planning and Conflict Management at the School Committee /Superintendent Level," and that the next step is to find times mutually convenient for the Committee to participate in the series of workshops with consultant Romeo Marquis. After a brief discussion it was decided to schedule the first workshop for December 10th, at 6:00 p.m., and set up a schedule for further meetings at that time. Progress Report - Pearl Street School Leasing Chairman Allen said he and Dr. Wells had discussed the Pearl Street School and it appears that there is a lot of interest in leasing but not much space left. He said they concluded that it might be valuable to have the two portable class- rooms which had been turned over to the Board of Selectmen returned to the School Committee. The Chairman said he, Dr. Wells, and Mr. Winslow had discussed this with the Board of Selectmen the previous Monday and, although no final vote was taken, the Selectmen seemed to favor this request, and the portables will probably be made available for leasing under School Committee supervision. Dr. Wells said he thought the portables could be rented at a higher rate than the School, adding that they were more expensive to heat. He noted that leasing the portables could be a cushion against operating at a loss. Chairman Allen added that the money realized could be used to maintain the building. Mr. Winslow said another plus is that the portables are equipped to accommodate the handicapped. He then listed those now leasing space, noting that they are presently "tenants at will" and that the Town Counsel is in the process of draw- ing up a three -year lease, with a two -year option, which would expire on June 30th. Mr. Winslow told the Committee that he may have to request more custodial hours in the future. He said with the present tenants the annual income from the building will be about $60,000 and may increase to $70,000. Dr. Wells reminded the Committee that there may be some "slippage ", which would necessitate using some of the $13,000 budgeted for "mothballing ". Substitute Teacher Situation Dr. Wells recommended the Committee raise the rate of pay for substitute teachers from $32 to $35 per day. He said he had discussed with RTA President Joseph Terilli possible solutions to the lack of available substitutes, such as having regular teachers take on additional classes at additional pay, 38U READING SCHOOL COMMITTEE MINUTES NOVEMBER 20, 1984 Dr. Munnelly said that although there have been problems in the past this is the first year when there have been days that the System did not have full coverage in the middle and elementary schools. He went over substitute teacher rates paid by surrounding communities, noting that all have the same problem obtaining substitutes, and there is no easy solution on the horizon. He said some towns are talking about paying a premium to teachers for not taking sick days, adding that absenteeism is not a problem in Reading. Dr. Munnelly said that in an effort to solve the problem the principals have arranged to take turns calling substitutes, so as not to duplicate efforts, advertisements are being placed in the newspaper and college students are being recruited. Mr. Nigro moved, seconded by Mrs. Philbrick, and it was voted unanimously, on the recommendation of the Administration, to increase the pay for substitute teachers to $35 per day, effective November 26, 1984. Policy on Collaboration with Nearby School Districts - Progress Report Dr. Wells told the Committee that two Incentive Aid Grants have been received in conjunction with the System's cooperative efforts with Lynnfield, North Reading and Wakefield, one of which is short -term and seeks to improve educational effec- tiveness through improved management, leadership and other motivational devices. He said the second is long -range and various possibilities are being explored, including a tie -in with the University of Lowell to establish an electronic educational network. He said possibilities exist for linking computers, audio and video communications with several school systems and the University. Dr. Wells said serious efforts are being made to find better ways of overcoming economic problems while keeping abreast of the latest technology. He added that Continental Cable has been contacted and their representatives are talking with people from the University. Dr. Munnelly added that the Administration will be seeking input on ideas for cooperation among school systems to compensate for declining enrollments. Resignation from Space Study Committee Mr. Nissen said that because of recent Town Meeting action a School Committee representative was no longer required on the Space Study Committee. He said that for this reason he intends to resign from that Committee, as he sees no reason for the School Committee to be represented. Chairman Allen asked if any other School Committee member would care to be on the Space Study Committee and received a negative response, He then thanked Mr. Nissen for his time and efforts as School Committee representative on the Space Study Committee. Executive Session - Adjournment At 10:33 p.m. Mr. Nissen moved, seconded by Mr. Coco, to enter into executive session to discuss matters pertaining to bargaining and negotiations. The motion carried on a unanimous roll call vote. ® a T,t41 �t a .red 2t ii - n,; r m The Committee Lellla lileu in executive �10Di uaa i i __J 0. - Y . Respectfully submitted,